📌 Join the BPCrew Chapter in your city and meet up with more Yankees fans! 👉 CLICK HERE
(Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Yankees Spring Training Game 23: Pineda, offense on top of their game

Yankees-logoBoston Red Sox 1 — New York Yankees 8

The Yankees offense came out strong in today’s game against the Boston Red Sox. Against Felix Doubront, Brett Gardner would open with a single. He would get to second on a passed ball and Alfonso Soriano would continue warming up for the season with a single to center field to bring home Gardner for the early one-run lead. The Yankees wouldn’t step off the gas pedal in the second, when Brian Roberts led off with a single and stole second base. Kelly Johnson would walk and Ichiro Suzuki would hit a single to center field to score Roberts. Brett Gardner would load the bases with a perfect bunt single down the first base line to load the bases for The Captain. Derek Jeter would hit an infield single to short that would plate another run. Mark Teixeira would hit a two-run single to left field but Jeter would be thrown out at third base. After two innings, the Yankees had a five-run lead.

After a unique bee delay of seven minutes, Francisco Cervelli got the bottom of the third started with a triple off the top of the left field wall. He would be stranded at third, a rare inability to score. With two on in the fourth inning, Alfonso Soriano got a hold of a Brandon Workman pitch and hit a booming three-run home run to left field.

The likely candidate for the fifth spot in the rotation, Michael Pineda, got the start today and he was outstanding. After getting the first two outs, he would give up a pair of singles but got his second strikeout of the inning. He would have a quick second inning and after allowing a double in the third, he would strikeout two more batters. Another quick fourth inning would follow before he would get one out in the fifth inning. He would allow a double and this would be the day for Pineda.

In 4.1 innings, Michael Pineda threw 60 pitches. He allowed four hits while allowing no runs and no walks while striking out five. All of the strikeouts came on sliders that dived out of the strike zone and got Red Sox batters swinging and missing. His fastball peaked at 94 MPH. The fans at George M. Steinbrenner Field were pleased with what they saw, as should many Yankees fans.

David Robertson took over in the fifth inning with one on but he would bounce back and strikeout the next two batters he faced to strand the runners on second and third. Shawn Kelley would have a perfect inning of work following Robertson. The Yankees would allow one run later in the game to lose the shutout but some good defensive plays by rightfielder Zoilo Almonte helped to finish off this one-sided affair.

Brett Gardner had a great day at the plate with three hits in four at-bats. Many of the major league talent in the lineup got hits today. Everyone but Kelly Johnson got a hit today. But Johnson’s day was not a waste as he walked and came around to score while playing some solid defense at third base.